Wang Tao

Resident ScholarCarnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy

Wang, an expert on climate and energy issues, runs a program at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy that examines China’s climate and energy policies, with particular attention to transportation and international climate negotiation.

Education

PhD, Environmental Economics, University of York
BA, Environmental Science, Fudan University

Languages

English; Mandarin Chinese

Contact Information

Resources

Wang Tao is a resident scholar in the Energy and Climate Program based at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Linking the work of Carnegie’s programs in Beijing and its global centers in Washington, Moscow, Beirut, and Brussels, his research focuses on China’s climate and energy policy, with particular attention to unconventional oil and natural gas, transportation, electric vehicles, and international climate negotiation.

Prior to joining Carnegie, Wang was program manager at World Wildlife Fund China, working in the Climate and Energy Program on scenario analysis, energy policy, and climate change adaptation. From 2006 to 2009, he was a core researcher at the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Science and Technology Policy Research Department at the University of Sussex.

Wang is author of numerous articles in the journals Climate Policy, Energy Policy, and Science of the Total Environment. He is also a regular contributor to the Chinese Financial Times, the Diplomat, People’s Daily, and China Daily. Tao contributed to the State of the World 2009 report by the Worldwatch Institute and the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report 2007–2008. He is a contributing author to Energy for the Future and Introduction to Low Carbon Economy.

The Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009 demonstrated that a full house of nation’s leaders could not deliver any ambitious targets without their strong and collective willingness to take painful but necessary actions at home.

To alleviate air pollution over the long term, Beijing must clearly communicate reasonable pollutant target-levels and empower local regulators to legally enforce them, even if it means lower GDP growth.

Dependence on cheap coal has resulted in high social and environmental costs for China which are only going to increase without the creation of policy framework for integrating less polluting technologies.

High levels of smog persist throughout China due to weak enforcement of current environmental regulations. Environmental protection agencies are understaffed and do not have the power to oppose government officials that prioritize GDP growth over environmental protection.

Chinese and international delegations will aim to strike a balance at the Warsaw Climate Change Conference to help developing countries adapt to climate change without being hampered by the temporary economic crisis in developed countries

With China’s economy slowing after decades of double-digit growth, now is the time to think strategically about how the nation will deal with its physical resource limitations, their associated environmental concerns, and oil’s evolving geopolitical realities. The China Oil Forum will engage key thinkers, policymakers, and civil society in a discussion about these strategic questions.

China’s National Petroleum Corporation and Russia’s OAO Gazprom signed a multi-billion dollar gas deal with far-reaching implications for geopolitics and global energy markets. Whether this represents a meaningful pivot eastward by Russia remains to be seen.